The Dodge City Red Demons are still searching for their identity but a patented defense and helter skelter offense did just fine for a season opener in a 47-34 road victory over Goddard in the season opener for both squads.

The Red Demons were very active in their zone defense causing 19 Goddard turnovers in the contest. Dodge City was able to score 26 points off of those turnovers on the way to the victory.

DCHS head coach Dennis Hamilton spoke earlier about the Red Demons trying to find their identity, but was very pleased with the execution on the defensive side of the floor and the ability to finish and score points off the Lion miscues.

"We did lean on the zone a little more than I intended to, but I thought it was effective and caused some problems because our kids were active," Hamilton said. "We ran a couple of varieties of zones and if you're going to run it, then you have to be active.

"We are searching for our identity, but one thing we can hang our hat on is how hard our kids played and I thought they played exceptionally hard tonight."

Three Red Demons scored in double figures for the victory: Matt Goedeken 13, Jordan Doan 12 and Shaphan Gross 11. The three players were a combined 15-of-27 from the field on the night.

"We always have those first game jitters, but we definitely came out strong defensively and took care of the ball on offense, too," Goedeken said. "It's finally nice to compete against some new faces."

The Red Demons allowed only one field goal in the first four minutes of the game, but were tied 6-6 late in the stanza. A five-point run by Dodge City (including a three-pointer by Doan at the buzzer) gave the visitors a cushion going into the second period.

Dodge City continued its dominance in the next stanza, scoring the first seven points and pushing the margin by as much as 15 points before leaving the court with a 26-13 lead by intermission. Doan led the Demons' offensive attack with 10 points and four rebounds, while Gross and Goedeken added six apiece before intermission.

The Lions shot 6-of-19 from the field but committed 11 turnovers after 16 minutes of play. Dodge City scored 19 points off of the Goddard turnovers.

Goddard applied pressure towards the Demons in the third period, but never could cut the deficit down to single digits. Dodge City led 35-23 going into the final quarter. The Lions never got closer than 10 points in the fourth quarter before the Demons pulled away in the final minutes.

Dodge City will wait a week before their next games, back-to-back road games at Manhattan and Junction City next weekend.